New details in local prostitution case; charges temporarily dropped for former cop accused of human trafficking
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IDAHO FALLS — Charges against two people charged with human trafficking have been put on hold as prosecutors wait for the case to continue.
Gordon Dennis Shaw, 83, and Xue Fang Lu, 60, were each charged with felony human trafficking, felony interstate trafficking prostitution and felony procurement of prostitution.
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According to the Bonneville County Prosecutor Randy Neal, the victim in the case is receiving a medical procedure that will leave them unable to come to court and participate in proceedings for multiple months. Because of this, prosecutors decided to delay the case.
According to court filings, Shaw’s case was dismissed without prejudice, meaning the prosecutor’s office can refile.
Lu’s case is still ongoing, though she was released from the Bonneville County Jail and entered pre-trial services.
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The difference between the two cases, according to Neal, is that Shaw is local to the area, has family ties nearby, and lives in an assisted living facility. Lu’s case was not dismissed because she does not have ties to the area and has had three similar cases in three other states.
Court filings say Lu must follow probation-like rules and not leave the 7th Judicial District while she is on pre-trial release. Lu is still expected to appear in court for a status conference on Jan. 8.
New details
During Lu’s preliminary hearing on Sept. 16, the victim testified she was asked by a woman she did not know, allegedly believed to be Lu, to come to Idaho Falls from another country for work.
According to the victim, she referred to Lu as “the boss.”
The victim said she was picked up from the airport by an older man, allegedly Shaw, and taken to Walmart to buy clothes and groceries.
From there, she was taken to the Fairfield Inn & Suites in Idaho Falls, where she would reportedly perform sex work for clients who would find her through an escort website hosted in Europe, which advertises prostitution services in cities all around the globe.
Eventually, locals began getting advertisements for the website and reported it to the police.
“The ad had multiple pictures of Asian women in revealing clothing that I can describe as like lingerie,” said a testifying Idaho Falls Police officer. “There was text on the bottom of it with a phone number as well and a description of what this person was offering.”
During the investigation, an Idaho Falls Police officer went undercover, pretending to be a client soliciting sexual contact from the victim.
The officer reportedly called one of the phone numbers and spoke to a woman he believes was Lu. The two of them scheduled a date and time for him to meet with the victim for sex.
“I had multiple interactions via text message as well as via voice conversations with (Lu),” said the officer. “She advised that I would have a good time, provided a price, and when asked if sexual acts would be appropriate to have with this person, she advised yes.”
The officer says Lu told him that there were multiple women, whom she referred to as “hookers,” that he could meet with and that she told him the victim was “a good girl and (you) can do what (you) want.”
The officer met with the victim at the hotel, talked about a price, and once she tried to initiate sexual contact, the officer said he stopped her, and she was detained by fellow officers who then came into the room.
Shaw and Lu were reportedly detained and arrested in a car outside the hotel.
According to a news release from the Idaho Falls Police Department, Shaw served as an officer in the 1990s and periodically held temporary employment positions at IFPD afterward, the last of which ended in 2008.
If convicted, both Shaw and Lu could each face up to 60 years in prison.